Our Serene Nursery

Miss Emma is going to be one lucky girl. She has a big brother who cannot wait to share his life with her, a daddy who would hang the moon and stars for her, and a mama who cannot wait to welcome her into our family. As I’m sure every mother would attest, words can simply not describe the way I already love our 2nd (and last) child.

After 3 months of planning, work, and stringing you along, I’m finally ready to reveal her serene nursery to you. It was truly a labor of love – and we honestly saw blood (Tom’s), sweat (Tom’s), and tears (mine) throughout the process. The room has turned out so perfectly, though, that we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Be warned that this post is very picture heavy, but I knew that’s what you’d want. 😉

You may remember the inspiration photo that triggered my entire vision. I still don’t know who is responsible for this photo, but I’d like to kiss their ring!

I absolutely fell in love with the beige and whites in this photo. Since I was having my one and only girl, though, I wanted to add a touch of pink into the room. I found this sweet, powder pink Angel Toile fabric, and the vision of my room was set into motion. I sketched out my plan for the room months ago, and I’m overjoyed to say that the final room turned out so much like my original vision!

I’ve never claimed to be an artist, but at least it got me headed in the right direction!

Introducing, Emma’s nursery:

The view when you walk into her bedroom.

The Piece de Resistance – a bed crown made from an antique fireplace mantle.

I found this mantle at a local antique shop. It was already painted this shade of cream, which is a perfect match to the rest of the room.

Another view of the crib. Tom, who lovingly over-engineers everything, did a fantastic job securing the crown to the wall. He said she could do gymnastics on it and it wouldn’t come down. I’m going to put together a tutorial on how to turn a vintage wood piece into a bed crown. It’s a lot easier than it looks!

Have no fear, the curtains are tied back to the walls, so Emma won’t be able to pull them into the crib.

The three tiered, ruffled cribskirt was made from vintage bed linens. It was really easy to put together. I’ll do a tutorial for this, too.

You can also see part of the angled wall/ceiling we were dealing with when putting up the crown molding. It was a difficult task, but Tom mastered it and it came out beautifully. He did such a great job!

On the next wall is an Ikea cabinet that used to be in my sewing/craft room.

The shelves are filled with a mix of old and new – some of my stuffed animals, some of Zack’s stuffed animals, my favorite baby picture of Zack, my first Pointe shoes.

On the wall between the bedroom door and closet, I hung this shelf I picked up at Goodwill. On the top, you’ll see an antique oval frame (which will soon be filled with something very special), my sister’s toddler shoes, and a photo of Tom’s grandmother (who we recently lost) and his father as a baby. On the hooks, the white dresses were my mother’s baby dresses. The pink dress will be what Emma will wear home from the hospital, and will then she’ll be able to pass it on to her own daughter.

I couldn’t forget to picture this little doggie. We let Zack pick out the first thing we ever bought for Emma, and he picked this dog the day he found out he was having a sister. The little dog’s tag says, “Best Friends.” I hope that they are.

Thank you so much for joining me in this little nursery tour. It’s been so hard keeping this all a secret from my readers for so many months, but I wanted to reveal it all at one time, instead of in little, unfinished pieces. I hope you think it was worth the wait. I do!

Okay, let’s look at it one more time.

Yay! Just 10 more weeks and the room will have it’s finishing touch – it’s very own princess.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Jack and Duke). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

Comments

You did a fantastic job of making a beautiful nursery for your daughter. I love the idea of using a mantel for bed crown – so creative! Using vintage shoes and clothes adds the perfect touch to this room. Great job!

Oh Lindsay! It’s a room fit for a princess for sure!! The nice thing is that it can grow with her and won’t be too “babyish” in a year or two. Very well done to you (and Tom 🙂 Oh, and I looove the slipcovered rocking chair. Did you sew that? I have a glider that needs a slipcover but I wouldn’t dare attempt it myself.

It’s beautiful. My daughter’s baby is due on Friday. The nursery is complete with white eyelet and touches of pink. Ballet is her theme and she has pointe shoes and wall art with a ballerina. I love the unit from Ikea.

How did you frame the clothing? It looks like it’s not enclosed in glass. The tie from the bonnet is hanging over the frame. How did you attach it to whatever is in the frames? I have so many pieces of clothing from myself and Rebekah that I would love to display in my home as well as Rebekah’s. Thanks.

It was very easy (once I figured it out!). I covered the glass from the frames in a layer of batting and then fabric (here, I used linen). Then, I just secured the items with t-pins that I was able to hide under layers of fabric. I wanted to actually put them under the glass, but there was no way to do that with the shoes other than shadow boxes, which I didn’t want to do.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! You gave me some amazing inspiration I hope to be able to use someday! 🙂 It looks perfect for a little princess and I love how your son picked out that doggie for his new baby sister.

OMG – I don’t have enough words to say how wonderful this room is! What a lucky little girl! And it is so fantastic that your families had the presence of mind to save so many mementos from your childhoods. What I wouldn’t give to have some things like that. (Although in our large family probably everything was passed down so much it was in rags by the end! LOL!)

precious!!!! so sweet. and with those colors you can go into toddler, little girl and teen! But knowing you- you will have something more amazing for each phase of childhood. 🙂 Enjoy your little girl! They are sooooooooooo much fun!

It’s beautiful! I literally got tears in my eyes as I read your post. I hope your kids are best friends, too; siblings are the greatest 🙂 Hope your delivery is smooth! What a beautiful place you’ll have to come home to 🙂

You did a great job Lindsay! I’ve been slowly working on our baby’s nursery myself for the past little while (my hubby’s been in Afghanistan), and I think it’s finally starting to come together. I’m hoping I can do a full reveal of ours in July, which will be just in time to welcome our baby (due in 8 weeks).

Were you going to hang the ribbon and bird chandelier in the room or did you decide not to? It is a gorgeous room. I love all the family heirlooms everywhere. Makes it so special. Congrats and good luck with the last leg!

You know, I haven’t actually hung it yet. I was thinking it would go over where the rocking chair is, but I’m not sure. So, right now it’s hanging on my son’s closet rod (and he actually really loves it there and wants to keep it – LOL). I just don’t want to hang it before I know exactly where I want it.

Everything looks absolutely perfect — my favorite project of yours, I think! I’ve never seen a bumper like that … and I can’t believe how nice it looks with your beautiful crib bedding. I just love the bedskirts. : )

So sweet Lindsay 😀 I’m a grown woman and I’m going to use some of these ideas for my bedroom…mainly the children’s clothing…I have my original dress from when I was a little girl in Africa and want to put it out for display and love the hangers and hooks as well as the manequin….just don’t have that much room here at the Love Shack! But you have inspired me and so love the dust ruffles on the crib…can’t wait to see your bundle of joy, fondly, Roberta

I LOVE this! Are those your old point shoes? Now I know what to do with mine. My daughter is a girlie girl all the way and my old pointe shoes would look perfect in her room (besides she’s in her 5th year of dance). You know what would look cute between those amazing curtains over her crib is a vinyl letter (first initial) or a vinyl cutout silhouette of something like a bunny or ballet shoes or puppy or something sentimental to you. Thanks for sharing! Love your design work.

I thought about doing a vinyl in between the curtains, but I’m not sure yet. I’m going to live with it for a few weeks and see if I decide that I “need” something there. I always overdo it, so I’m trying to err on the side of caution! LOL

Serene is the perfect word to describe the lovely way you’ve put the room together ! Great job! Now you can sit back, relax and get as much sleep as possible and hope that your little princess will LOVE to sleep in there too!

Wow, that room is amazing! My little girl (also due in 10 weeks) is just getting her brother’s nursery with a few girly touches. I mean, blue walls and everything (my hubby painted a lovely tree mural he refused to paint over). I so admire your vision and execution, what a lucky little girl!

You know, I haven’t actually hung it yet. I was thinking it would go over where the rocking chair is, but I’m not sure. So, right now it’s hanging on my son’s closet rod (and he actually really loves it there and wants to keep it – LOL). I just don’t want to hang it before I know exactly where I want it.

simply stunning. The payoff of seeing this was totally worth the wait. Would you expand upon how to frame items like you did above the changing table? All of your heirlooms lay so flat! I would love to know how to do that!

Lindsay – it’s been so long! I’m so glad that I came back to see how everyone is doing! I’m so excited for you and your family as you get ready to welcome your newest addition…. Emma is a lucky little lady….

You may have already blogged about it, (and I’ll have to go back and read all of the posts I missed), but it looks like you have the same crib that we have for Molly. It’s a Graco Ashleigh Dropside…. and it’s on the recall list. If you haven’t already read it, be sure to check it out. No biggie – just needs some hardware to disable the dropside. Just wanted to make sure you knew!

My crib is actually a fixed-side crib – it’s the Rockland Caden crib from JC Penney. Thanks so much for the heads up, though! All of these crib recalls are certainly scary. We had a drop-side crib that we used with our son, but we decided not to use it because of all of the drop-side crib warnings to date (even though that one hasn’t actually been recalled). Oh, and that crib was a natural color and I decided that I would die if I didn’t have a white one for this baby. LOL

Awesome! Sorry to be such a downer – that totally wasn’t my intention! =) Our crib is white too – so cute. I have to post some pictures of our nursery. It’s certainly not as polished as yours, but it’s still my favorite room in the house!

Dear Lindsay, The nursery is so very beautiful!! I can see your pictures in a magazine for sure. I love how you have so many sentimental touches around the room. My absolute favorite item is that triple layer crib skirt! You are amazing! Can’t wait to see the precious little one.

Oh. My. Word. This nursery is SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I love how light it is! The bed crown, curtains, and the crib skirt are gorgeous – they make the room look like a million bucks. 🙂 And the heirlooms make it so personal! Congratulations on a beautiful room to bring your little girl home to!

Lindsay, I haven’t stopped by your blog in a while, but I’m so glad I did tonight. Emma’s nursery is just beautiful! It looks so soft, airy, and comfortable – I love the little pink dog your son picked out for his new sister. I also love all of the family heirlooms you’ve included. The room is so personal and unique to your family. Emma is a lucky little girl!

I love the little ones new room…a princess will love it..I would love for you to show us how to do the 3 layer bed skirt you did on her bed. I am so wanting to do this for one of the grandchilds room…thanks for all of your insperations…Vera

Beautiful room…so serene and perfect! I think a perfect touch to the room would be a round carpet something that can bring the colors of the crib and curtains all together to the floor. Again, great job!

I am doing a feature on nurseries and want to include this! I’ve been a long time reader and Emma’s nursery is one of my favourites. It will of course include links to your fabulous blog! Hope that’s ok Jenny

[…] of my top picks from Lindsay’s blog. She has some amazing projects and transformations. This Serene Nursery she created for her precious baby girl makes me swoon. I loved seeing all the little details, like […]

[…] in a bright shade of green and doing something fun in her room. I’m ready to move past the calm and serene nursery and onto something that better reflects her personality – which is neither calm nor […]

[…] Emma’s nursery was a sweet little room for a sweet little baby. I put a lot of time into making sure it stayed soft and neutral. I had it in my brain that this would help her sleep well. I have no idea if my theory is based in any real science, but I do know that I could put her in her bed awake and she’d put herself to sleep. I credit my genius wall color choices. […]

[…] For more inspiration: hang a selection of your seasonal wardrobe on pieces of wood and sticks of branches for a rustic feel or for a perfectly sweet nursery, go shabby chic by hanging delicate little dresses on a shelf knobs. […]

About Makely

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Jack and Duke). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.